Still doing well - I've been doing tonnes of cardio recently which seems to be helping out the blemishes on my chest. I'm nowhere near as strict with my routine as I was at the start of all this. I currently use the New Dawn Peppermint Soap, green tea rinses, jojoba oil, facial cleansing wipes (for makeup removal when I wear it) mineral foundation for the SPF and a sugar, honey and lemon juice scrub coupled with the very very rare Aztec healing clay mask. I still use Duac occasionally but I can leave clogged pores alone now and they usually don't turn into full blown blemishes. I use products as and when I need them now instead of in a strict routine. I still take my supplements pretty regularly but only use the zinc every few months now.

Got a back-to-Uni breakout going on at the moment - a few dried up spots here and there and 3 bumps on my cheek. As annoying as it is it's pretty normal for the sudden stress, wavering diet and fresher's flu. I'm not going to pick or over treat - hopefully it'll clear up well on it's own. I've been eating a lot of things containing beta-carotene recently and I'm not sure if it's my imagination or if my skin looks less sallow.

Breakout has calmed down a bit. The redness is fading off in some areas and the texture is getting a bit smoother again. The Duac seems to have helped last night. Then again, my body's using a lot of resources to help heal a burn on my hand at the moment, I suppose dealing with the spots isn't a priority for it right now.

Considering I've: washed my face with hand soap, worn makeup for a full day, ate more junk food this week than ever in my life and slept for approximately 5 hours a day, I think I can safely say my current breakout is extremely mild.

Wow ur skin is amazing! Just wondering, would you credit you becoming clear to the duac mainly? I take hormone balancing supplements like DIM and omega 3's but I've just recently been prescribed duac to use and I've been on it for 2 days and my skin is itching like mad and burning! I read that u had similar problems in the beginning, around how long did it take for ur skin to adjust and did duac clear u pretty quickly? I can't even sleep I feel like scratching my face off!

There are two main things that helped the most: Duac and not picking. I had mild acne, which was threatening to become more moderate as I picked it which often caused it to spread and multiply. Getting your hormones in balance is important for more than just your skin and a very good idea. The Duac cleared me in a matter of days; about 3 or 4, I'd say. The acne was definitely gone within the first week (I remained completely clear for a few months after that, I now get small breakouts, which are manageable). Initially my skin burnt really badly, it was bright red and peeling, with what appeared to be superficial scarring. This settled down after around 3 weeks or so if my memory serves me correctly, and only when I added jojoba oil to my regimen. It no longer burns and I don't go red when I'm too hot any more. I can't say itching was too much of an issue for me and I'd consult your doctor about that; it's possible to have an allergic reaction to BP, so it's always worth getting it checked out. Hope this helps, and good luck on your journey!

Ahh thank you so much it's given me the willpower to continue with the duac even with all the redness and burning! Beauty is pain lol! I don't think I have an allergic reaction to bp, I've used it before and I can already see the duac helping, haven't had a new spot since starting and my current breakout is healing nicely even if its accompanied with a tomato face! Ur updates have been really helpful, gotta love the acne.org community

Been dealing with a relapse on the left side of my face these last few weeks; most likely from picking at one or two spots. The breakout is drying up and going away now but I still have some bumps next to my eyebrows and a couple of spots on my forehead - they're all the big red kind unfortunately. Having a lot of hormonal and stress issues at the moment as well; thankfully using the Duac every night seems to be working to get rid of the current acne.

It's been a year since I began this regimen now. I currently have one active on my forehead and 5 small dark bumps on the lower part of my left cheek that are almost flat. Overall my skin is much clearer, smoother and in better condition than when I began. I'm currently using ClearZit 10% BP gel in place of the Duac to see if I can get by without the topical antibiotic element. It burns a bit but my skin is accustomed enough to BP to take twice daily application on the effected areas with no lasting redness or burns.

I'm not very happy with that big red spot on my left cheek (it's a mark, not an active pimple). Otherwise my skin's doing pretty well. My hormones have regulated again naturally for the time being: I decided against the Saw Palmetto as extra testosterone does have it's benefits and it's been a part of who I am for a long time now. My dad's started smoking again, I try to avoid being near him when he does but it sometimes means getting up and leaving the room for quarter of an hour. I wish he'd at least think about our lungs if he doesn't care about his own. Stress isn't as bad as it was.

My skin is pretty bad right now - lots of clogged pores, but it's the large red dots that are getting me down. It's still not as bad as it used to be, but I suppose the pressure of final year and my PCOS flare ups is really doing a number on it. I suspect that my poor circulation in the winter doesn't help either. I'm trying to be more strict about adhering to my skin care routine.

I took 50mg of zinc and 1000mg of vitamin C last night before bed and this morning quite a lot of my actives have gone flat. Sticking to not touching or picking at my face and applying quite a lot of green tea periodically.

Currently got 4 actives, 3 white heads and 1 with no head. I also have some hyper-pigmentation, some small clogged pores and a burn on my jawline. Staying very strictly faithful to my skin care routine seems to be helping quite a bit. My diet has slipped lately so I'm getting back on track with that. I've started eating oranges this week which I've never eaten before (I know, I know - my diet as a child and teen was horrific) and I've upped my intake of kale for the extra vitamin A.

I tried dry skin brushing on my face today (I know there's a link between irritation and acne, but I already physically exfoliate with no difference in the amount/severity of my blemishes). The bristles on the brush are black so it's easy to see any dead skin that comes off. All the clear areas of my skin had none whatsoever and everywhere that I get blemishes had a ridiculous amount, even though I did a face scrub not too long ago. It makes sense - I don't have oily skin at all and I wash twice daily, so my skin not shedding properly could well be the issue behind all of my clogged pores. Hopefully this doesn't break down my cells walls in the lower layers, because if it doesn't it could potentially be a fantastic way of avoiding all the clogged pores. My skin feels great currently, ridiculously smooth, not red or inflamed at all, and the benzoyl peroxide is sinking in much better. Oh well, I shall experiment so you don't have too! I'll keep you all updated at any rate.